An occasional review of whatever books I've finished reading. Mainly interested in recent science fiction, but have occasional forays into mysteries and urban fantasy. I'll also touch on TV and movies from time to time.

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Injustice: Gods Among Us comic review

The comic: Injustice: Gods Among Us is bad. I mean really, really bad. Mediocre art, bad story, incoherent science and characters who make decisions based off the plot needs rather than the actual character. If the same people who came up with this story are scripting the video game, then I’m not sure I’m interested in that. The only good piece so far is the Green Arrow/Harley Quinn scenes, but since that is so far away from the main plot so far, it’s not something that you can really hope extends to the rest of the series. Let’s see what happens (SPOILERS AHEAD):

The story starts off with a futuristic framing sequence with Batman narrating about a future where Superman is an evil dictator who has taken over the world. Then we drop back to Lois and Clark in bed as Clark hears the baby’s heartbeat (bad science #1) . Lois goes out to chase a story while Clark suits up and finds Batman in Metropolis. While Batman is deducting that Lois is pregnant, Joker shoots Jimmy and kidnaps Lois. Batman goes on his investigation while Superman searches for Lois. He runs into Joker and Harley Quinn in a submarine and gets a dose of Kryptonite laced Scarecrow fear potion(bad science #2) which makes him believe that Lois is Doomsday. He grabs Doomsday (Lois) and takes him(her) up to space before Batman is able to get ahold of him. Whoops. Superman has killed Lois. Batman tracks down Joker and is having a civilized discussion when Superman flies in and punches Joker through the heart. Then we have Green Arrow capturing Harley Quinn and taking her back to the Arrow Cave (which she points out that The Quiver is a better name), to stop Superman from killing her.

Let’s start with the bad science. First of all, a fetus doesn’t have a heartbeat until around 5 weeks into the pregnancy. By the fifth week, Lois would know she is pregnant and would have told Clark already. Second, if Superman needs Kryptonite to get gas past his lungs, then how does Superman get Oxygen? One of the major functions of the lungs is to get the air you breathe into your bloodstream.

Let’s take the art next. The characters very boxy. They look like posed and reduced to basic shapes. The backgrounds aren’t bad, but the characters just don’t fit in.

The story is pretty bad as well. There is no reason for Superman to snap, other than the plot requires it. And it’s still not clear how Harley Quinn escaped and Superman wasn’t able to find her. Someone with his abilities and speed should have found her within a few minutes after killing Joker. It’s also not clear why Superman would take over the world of the future. That’s so far removed from the moral clarity of Superman, that it doesn’t make any sense at all.

Overall, I would not recommend this comic. There’s a chance that the video game will be better, but if they follow this storyline, I tend to doubt it. Not recommended.

UPDATED: Having read through issue 9, I still don’t recommend this. I know I told you not to read it, but I continued on. Do as I say, not as I do. The book is trying to pull off a DC Universe version of Squadron Supreme, with half the intelligence and none of the wit.